A 45-year-old Indian national, Sanjay Kumar, has been sentenced to 43 months in federal prison for his involvement in selling counterfeit cancer drugs in the United States. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the sentencing, which follows Kumar’s guilty plea on October 30, 2025, to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.
U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal imposed the sentence and also ordered a one-year term of supervised release after imprisonment and a $58,823 money judgment against Kumar. During sentencing, Judge Rosenthal commented on the severity of Kumar’s actions, stating that he had knowingly marketed ineffective drugs to people seeking life-extending treatment: “junk.”
“When a patient takes a drug to treat a medical condition, they expect it to be legitimate, effective, and safe. When victims are instead sold worthless counterfeit medicine, it undermines not only their own health outcomes, but also public confidence in the American medical system as a whole,” said Ganjei. “The conduct in this case was particularly depraved because Kumar was selling false hope to those battling cancer, knowing full well his fugazi drugs would do nothing to help against this life-threatening disease. The Southern District of Texas will find and punish any person who, like Sanjay Kumar, attempts to make a quick buck by endangering patients’ lives.”
From August 2018 through June 2024, Kumar and others were involved in distributing counterfeit versions of Keytruda—a cancer immunotherapy—valued at tens of thousands of dollars. Keytruda is an FDA-approved medication used for several cancers including melanoma and Hodgkin lymphoma; its genuine manufacture and distribution rights belong exclusively to Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC.
Authorities determined that the counterfeit Keytruda lacked the necessary active ingredient for treating cancer and featured packaging imitating Merck trademarks. In an undercover operation during the investigation led by ICE-HSI with support from the FDA, Kumar attempted further sales of fake Keytruda and admitted knowledge that his products were ineffective for treating cancer—describing them as “just like water.” He received approximately $89,268 from these illegal sales.
Kumar remains in custody awaiting transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuted the case alongside Trial Attorneys Ethan Cantor, Bryce Rosenbower and Jeff Pearlman from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, part of the Department of Justice under the Attorney General’s supervision, handles both criminal prosecutions and civil cases on behalf of the government across six offices located in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville. The office employs more than 200 attorneys serving over nine million residents across 43 counties (source). Notable former leaders include Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) (source).
